Of Mice and Men Revision- Crooks and Racism

Like the majority of the other characters within the novel, Crooks admits that he is extremely lonely, and this is revealed when Lennie visits him in his room. At first, he turns Lennie away, trying to prove that as a black man, he deserves his own rights. However, his hunger for company overalls, and so he allows Lennie to sit with him- he can see that Lennie genuinely wants to be with him, unlike the other men.

Similar to Curley's Wife, crooks is a disempowered character who turns his vulnerability into a weapon to attack those even weaker than himself. Because of this, Crooks decides to play a cruel game on Lennie, suggesting that George is gone for good, despite only going out with the other menfor the evening. He only stops and says sorry when Lennie threatens him with physical evidence- although Crooks has more power mentally over Lennie, he can see when threat is arising. Lennie obviously has much more power physically over Crooks, which is emphasised by his disability.

Crooks illustrates the corrosive effects that loneliness can have over a person. He gains sympathy from the reader as he begins to make evident the origins of his cruel behaviour. Crooks might want a sense of belonging more than anything else, which would allow him to enjoy the simple pleasures such as the right to enter the bunk house, or to play cards with the other men. This desire would help to explain why he cannot help but ask if there might be room from him to come along and *** in the garden, despite his doubt towards the dream happening.

Examples of Crook's character:

Crook's passage in section 4 brings the reader back to reality. Just after Lennie has shared his dream and plans to buy a farm with George and raise rabbits, Crooks tries to deflate Lennie's hopes. He relates that "hundreds" of men have passed through the ranch, all with very…